Tennant Minerals has delivered a standout diamond drilling result at its Bluebird copper-gold-bismuth discovery, extending high-grade mineralisation and highlighting bismuth’s rising strategic value.
- 18m at 10.1 g/t AuEq including 4.55m at 34.5 g/t AuEq
- High bismuth grades amid global supply constraints
- Extension of Bluebird resource footprint down-plunge and west
- Metallurgical test-work underway to optimise multi-metal recovery
- Co-funding application lodged to test large gravity anomaly
Spectacular Drill Intersection Boosts Bluebird’s Resource Potential
Tennant Minerals Ltd (ASX:TMS) has reported a remarkable diamond drilling intersection at its Bluebird discovery within the Barkly Project, Northern Territory. Drill hole BBDD0050 returned 18 metres grading 10.1 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq), including a blistering 4.55 metres at 34.5 g/t AuEq and a high-grade 0.55 metre interval hitting 42.6 g/t gold with 9.6% copper and 12.2% bismuth. This intersection extends the high-grade gold-copper-bismuth zone down-plunge and west of the recently defined open-pit Mineral Resource, which remains open for expansion.
The standout feature is the high bismuth content, trading at over US$60,000 per tonne following China’s 2025 export controls. This metal, often overlooked in copper-gold projects, now commands strategic importance, adding significant value to the Bluebird discovery. The company notes the bismuth grades alongside gold and copper make this a truly exceptional intersection, underscoring the potential for a substantially larger resource base.
Resource Extension Supported by Gravity Modelling and Co-Funding Bid
The new intersection lies west and below the October 2025 open-pit Mineral Resource shell, which comprises 1.58 million tonnes at 3.00% copper equivalent, including 1.07 million tonnes of Indicated Resources grading 3.43% CuEq. The mineralised zone remains open to the west where it is projected to intersect a large gravity high, interpreted as an extensive ironstone body that could more than double Bluebird’s footprint. Tennant Minerals has submitted a co-funding application to the Northern Territory government to test this target, reflecting growing confidence in the scale potential of the system.
Geophysical inversion modelling has been crucial in delineating this target, showing a large ironstone gravity anomaly coincident with a reversed magnetic anomaly, both hallmarks of Tennant Creek-style mineralisation. This approach builds on the company’s previous success in targeting high-grade zones along the Bluebird-Perseverance corridor, which has seen multiple thick copper-gold-bismuth intersections recently reported, including a 19.7m high-grade zone just weeks earlier. The new results further validate this targeting strategy and the potential for significant resource growth in the region.
Metallurgical Work to Unlock Value of Multi-Metal Mineralisation
Beyond resource expansion, the drill core from BBDD0050 will feed metallurgical test-work aimed at optimising recoveries of gold, copper, bismuth, and silver. Initial test results from previous drilling demonstrated copper recoveries up to 90% and gold recoveries up to 79% into concentrate. The current program focuses on enhancing gold and bismuth recovery, critical given the metals’ rising prices and contribution to overall value, bismuth alone accounts for nearly 40% of the gold equivalent grade in this intersection.
The metallurgical studies are part of the broader Tennant Creek Copper Alliance, a collaboration between Tennant Minerals, CuFe Ltd (ASX:CUF), and Emmerson Resources (ASX:ERM). The Alliance aims to develop a shared processing facility to reduce costs and environmental impact. The partners recently secured $600,000 in government grants towards a feasibility study for this facility, which would process concentrates from Bluebird and other regional deposits, potentially accelerating project development.
Next Steps in Drilling and Resource Definition
Tennant Minerals plans further drilling to test the western extensions of the high-grade mineralisation and to infill for resource definition. The company is also advancing geological modelling using gravity and magnetic data to refine targets along the 3-kilometre Bluebird-Perseverance corridor. The recent results provide a strong platform for these efforts and support the potential to significantly increase the Bluebird resource beyond the current open-pit limits.
With bismuth prices surging due to supply constraints and gold maintaining strength, Tennant’s multi-metal focus could enhance project economics if recovery and processing challenges are successfully addressed. The co-funding application outcome and metallurgical results in coming weeks will be key catalysts for the stock and project trajectory.
These developments come amid a series of positive drilling results that have steadily expanded Bluebird’s resource footprint and underpin the company’s strategic alliance efforts. The combination of high-grade intersections, strategic metal content, and supportive government funding initiatives positions Bluebird as a compelling asset in the Northern Territory’s copper-gold landscape.
Investors following Tennant Minerals will be watching how the company balances resource growth with metallurgical optimisation and infrastructure development within the Alliance framework, as these factors will ultimately determine the project’s commercial viability and timeline.
19.7m high-grade copper-gold-bismuth intersection and Extension of high-grade copper-gold-bismuth zone provide important context for the latest results, illustrating a consistent trend of expanding mineralisation and resource potential at Bluebird.
Bottom Line?
Tennant Minerals’ latest drilling at Bluebird highlights a rare combination of high-grade gold, copper, and strategically valuable bismuth, setting the stage for resource expansion and metallurgical breakthroughs that could reshape project economics.
Questions in the middle?
- How will metallurgical test results impact recovery rates for bismuth and gold?
- What scale of resource increase is achievable if the western gravity target is confirmed?
- How will the co-funding application outcome influence the timing of further drilling?